The Great Symmetry (28 page)

“It turns out that a fence does not work very well on Kelter. If you could not climb or jump over, someone can haul you up. And so they sharpened the fence. And we brought blankets to lay over the razors. Still they could not make the gates work. Every time they fixed them, the software went out of control once again. A great mystery.

“The people who went over the fence were arrested. Zeroed. Terrorists, because we were undermining the FirstStar revenue stream. But more came.

“Out in the desert, they started rounding people up. For walking in the desert. Illegal gathering, of more than some number of people. So we set out in groups of people who had never met before. We found out the definition of an assembly, people within a meter of each other, and we carried measuring sticks to always show we were at least one meter away from any other person. They took the sticks away, saying they were weapons, and beat us with them.

“They stopped watering the tree. Revenue stream was gone, so why spend the money? Just business. No problem finding
the money for rentacops to round people up, though.

“And so we started bringing water for the tree, each of us a little bit. And the game was whether you could get to the tree and pour it there, right at the trunk, before they caught you. For some people, an art form. A competitive sport.”

Kate broke in. “Why all this over a tree
? Why would they not let people do as they would?”

“It was not about the tree,” Axiom told them. “It was the idea that someone could make a decision not to pay. To refuse the terms. Very dangerous.”

Axiom continued his narrative. “So many people were zeroed, it became a problem. Less spending. Bad for business.
Finally there was a day when ten thousand people were walking across the desert. Singing, praying, or walking in silence, expressing their spirit as they would. Close to the tree, we saw a phalanx of rentacops ready to crack some heads. It was going to be a bad day for everyone.

“One of us walked ahead alone, to show we were not a
threat, at least physically. As the enforcers prepared to make an example, the line parted. The Governor came forward, to bargain. And a solution was found to head off the crisis.

“FirstStar donated the tree, for a generous tax credit, because this was back when the families paid taxes, at least a little bit
. In exchange, it was up to us to tend it.

“On that day, a few dedicated people decided to live right here, for that duty. And then we were joined by others. But each of us brought what we
needed, and worked by ourselves and with our neighbors. We swore never to accept credit from outside. Never to owe again. Never to accept the terms.”

“The Untrusted Zone,”
Evan said.

“The start of it,” Axiom confirmed. “And we find ourselves here. With the most important rule, if you want to live in this place, or visit for a while. You will help tend the tree.”

“Such a story!” exclaimed Kate. “
I have heard pieces of it, told as if it was a myth, but never the whole thing. You were a witness to this?”

“A witness. Yes, you could say that. I was.”

They finished their lunch in the shade of the buttonwood tree.

Never To Owe

When they entered the hospital room, Mira started to growl. “Whose idea was this? A hospital. In civilization. Do you know what they do here?”

“Of course we do,” Evan told her. “They fix you up. And I hear it’s looking pretty good.”

“Good? Eight weeks, five surgeries to go. Best case.”

“But Mira, you needed the care.
And we had no choice. We’re all in custody now, you know.” Evan gestured toward the police guard at the door.

Mira tried to raise herself up in the bed. “There is a perfectly good hospital in the Untrusted Zone.”

“Not for this,” Evan told her. “With your injuries, you would have lost a leg. Or worse. You had to come here
. A couple of months, and you’ll be fine. What’s the problem?”

Mira fixed them with a glare. “You want to know what’s the problem? I’ll tell you what’s the problem. Wage slavery!”

“What, in the hospital?” Evan looked around. “They look like professionals to me. Great jobs.”

“No. Me! A wage slave for the rest of my days. Every time they talk about the next procedure, they refuse to talk about the cost. Say that they need to do what’s medically necessary. Won’t answer any questions about it. Just hush me like the nurses do. They must all take a class in it. Hushing people like me.”

Evan reflected that it might be a pretty useful course
.

“Mira, it was necessary. I’m sure there is a reasonable way to settle the costs.”

Mira would not be soothed. “They take you in and tell you not to worry. Over the days and months, they just keep adding it up. Ten credits for every square of toilet paper. And before they let you out, you have
to sign the payment plan. Chase down your kin for the balance after you die. I’ve seen it happen. If I can still pilot, I’ll be running cargo for the rest of my life. Following best practices. And speed limits. Wondering how my nieces and nephews are going to pay the rest of the bill some day when I’m gone.
”

Evan could relate. When his cousin Elena had checked out with a negative balance, the executor of the estate, from CoreValue, had offered the customary thirty percent discount if the heirs would sign a payment plan without any litigation. Evan accepted responsibility for a share of what was owed, and he had paid it off over a few years.

Kate had been making a call, using one of those stupid clunky phones that the government had issued them. Monitored every moment, and you could only talk or message to preapproved numbers. Now she broke in. “Mira, really. It’s no problem.”

Mira rolled her eyes. “Oh great
. Now you are telling me not to worry my pretty little head, too. Well, I’ve got news for you. It’s not so pretty anymore.” Mira drew a finger along the deep scar running from her jaw past her temple, which then intersected a massive double row of surgical stitches that went all the way across her forehead.
“Good news, they didn’t have to shave me to do the brain surgery. It’s the little things, don’t you think?”

“No. I mean, it’s covered.”

“Covered?” Mira gave a blank look.

Kate explained. “I asked a good friend to come out of retirement for a few days, to help me salvage some assets out of my family before it was seized. He did a really great job, and I’m so grateful
. So back to you. Your estimated bill, after all the surgeries, will be about two point one million credits. And that’s in your account now. It’s covered.”

“You don’t mean it.”

“I do.”

“If I could get up, I would go over there and beat you senseless with my one good arm.
Don’t you get it? Never to owe. And if there is one thing worse in this universe than a lifetime of wage slavery, it’s owing anything to you. No.”

“Maybe we can come to an accommodation,” Kate offered.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Mira looked like a cornered animal.

“The way I see it, I am providing you with two point one million credits. That’s a pretty good amount.”

“And?”

“You saved my life,” Kate stated simply. “From Affirmatix. At the entrance of the cave and all the way through. You might not value that highly, but I do. More than the two point one. But if you are feeling generous, we can call it square.”

“But we endangered you to start.”

“Evan endangered me. You saved me
. So, will you let me off the hook for just two point one, or are you going to drive a tougher bargain?”

“But, two point one million−”

“Nothing to a rich girl like me. Do you think you’re the only person who refuses to leave debts lying around? Are you going to accept my offer, or not?”

Evan had never seen Mira lose a staredown.
Until then.

“I guess that would be okay,” she mumbled. “Fair value. I don’t owe you anything.”

“Not a penny.”

Evan had been edging toward the exit. This was a private matter, between them. He would come back in a few minutes, when it would be time for all of them to head for their meeting with the governor.

As he headed into the hall, with his guard detail,
he thought he caught a glimpse of Mira reaching out to Kate with her one good arm.

No, that couldn’t be. Not in a million years.

Part 7: Shabby Donkeys

Strange Bedfellows

The communication from Governor Rezar to Axiom had read, “Please visit for tea at your earliest convenience. Come as our guests, and leave freely when you wish. Clothing required.”

Axiom had chosen his delegation. Evan, Kate, Mira, and Kestrel.

And so they found themselves preparing to enter the governor’s mansion. No matter what the message said, it still felt like walking directly into the lion’s den.

“Free tea, and probably cookies,” Axiom told them. “Let us make the most of it.
We shall all pretend that we want to go to Abilene, even if no single one of us wants to.”

Kestrel seemed especially anxious. “I’m still wanted for TermSleuth, you know,” he told Axiom.

TermSleuth had been a convenient tool to scan the
terms
of a sale, at a grocery store or any other location, to check for anything egregious. You could set it to ignore the usual and customary
terms
that were attached to every purchase, such as the lifetime commitment not to disparage the vendor
. The app would check for unusual terms, like a requirement to make an additional payment.
TermSleuth
had been a big hit, until it had been classified as infoterrorism on the grounds that it unduly alarmed customers, and Kestrel had been on the run ever since.

“That is a risk for you,” Axiom agreed
. “The invitation said you and I could leave freely, so we will see if they live up to the terms that they themselves have set.”

At each step in the journey, everyone seemed to know who they were. They were waved through each of three security checks with only the most basic of scans.

The last and largest set of doors opened before them, and they walked through into the reception hall. Except Mira, who was in a motorized wheelchair.

Which really pissed her off. There was no helping it. Not for at least another few days. The docs had promised her a set of powered legs, which would allow her to walk, after a fashion, but then they h
ad decided she wasn’t ready for them. The flexing of her legs, even with the power assist, would be too harmful.

She had to give them credit. Other than the two million credits, that is. The docs and staff sincerely cared about fixing her up. She didn’t want to admit that part of fixing her up involved holding her back.

Almost every part of her hurt, one way or another, but she could handle that. By far the worst part was the Stewart
monitor. It itched and was driving her crazy.

Mira desperately wanted to adjust the monitor on her ankle, but she couldn’t reach that far. Her knee was splinted and she couldn’t bend it. Her shoulder hurt far too much to even contemplate leaning forward. And so the device on her ankle tormented her.

Their escorts led them forward, and there he was. The stuffed shirt himself. Surrounded by
a cloud of attendants who acted as if he mattered. Mira looked around to see when the trap would be sprung. The tall doors closed behind them, but all was peaceful.

She would be good. She would let Axiom do the talking. He would know best how to handle it. Even if he was the one who had insisted on accept
ing the invitation, and had now delivered himself directly to the authorities.

The governor stepped forward to greet them. “Thank you for coming. Please allow me to provide introductions. My father, former governor Rezar. Head of our space services, Admiral Incento. Director of Information Services, General Erickson.”

Axiom provided the introductions for their side.
Matched up against the top executives of the planet, he somehow made their ragtag group appear respectable. Mira thought to herself that it was a good thing that she wasn’t doing the introductions – an infoterrorist, an exoarchaeologist, a partially reassembled shuttle pilot, a hacker, and a social butterfly.

The former governor was speaking to Axiom
. “I wish to be civil, but I must ask – what have you done? What of our truce? You broke the bargain, and that now brings doom.”

“The truce.” Axiom weighed the word. “We all knew it was just that. It would only hold until the moment that either of us
saw an opportunity for decisive action. Do you deny this?”

“I left you at peace, and so has my son,” the former governor declared.

“As did your father in turn, with whom we made the bargain. A good man. I agree that you have left us to live as we would, in
the Untrusted Zone, even as you kept a bag over the heads of the rest of our brothers and sisters.”

“Whatever you may think of how we govern, it appears that you chose the worst possible moment to take the action that you did. But, I must stop myself. I am no longer the governor. Perhaps it would be best if I left this matter to those who are now in office. If you will excuse me.” The former governor turned slowly and walked from the room.

They were left with the boy king. Probably annoyed that he was missing the social event of the moment, Mira thought.

“Will you please join me for tea?” the governor said.
Wow, bold leadership.

It must be surgery, Mira thought. Nobody was actually that good looking. But they had done a great job, because Rezar didn’t resemble the fashion model lookalikes who inhabited the top tiers of the kyriarchy. The platoons of manicured executives she had seen in the course of her lifetime had a fine-featured delicacy that came out of the same instruction book, an effect that conveyed that they would never deign to labor. Rezar had his own look, and holy cow did it work for him.

“An excellent selection of cookies, I see,” Axiom told the governor. “This is really why we came. Can’t get cookies like this in the Untrusted Zone.”
Axiom gathered a selection of the wafers onto his plate.

“My father recommended that I invite you here,” the governor told Axiom. “I must admit, I am still not sure why. You are the ones who brought this upon us. But, I ask for any advice that you may have on our current situation. You know of the D6, I assume?”

“The jewels in the sky.
What decent infoterrorist would not be aware of them?”

“Infoterrorist. You wear it with pride.”

“I prefer to wear less, but if you mean the moniker, then yes. I am an infoterrorist. Ever since I was small. T
radition.”

Mira tried to picture Axiom as a child. Failed completely. He had been born a hundred years old.

“And you orchestrated the infoterrorist attack,” the governor pressed.

“That is not so,” Axiom told him. “An orchestra has a conductor, who signals each instrument exactly when to play, and all of the
notes are preordained in the composition. Better to say that I whispered an idea to some friends. Lit a match, if you like. Or simply helped to free that which no longer wished to be imprisoned.”

“In one manner or another, you caused it to occur.”

“It is true that I took the first step
into the desert, and was then joined in the journey by many friends.”

Mira could no longer contain herself. “Listen, I really appreciate the tea, but if we’re here, do we get to talk with the people who make the actual decisions?”

Mira heard the others, but she didn’t care. “Ixnay, Mira,” Evan was saying in her ear. “Not exactly the right time…
” She shrugged Evan away. This man was wasting their time. It turned out that shrugging hurt, especially along the biggest scar down the back of her shoulder.

The governor regarded her. “Ms. Adastra. Mira, right?
You are the one who jumped.”

“I know who you are, too, governor.” She ignored the groans and shushes.

“Mira, your question is a fair one. Let’s just say that, of late, the people who actually make the decisions have been listening to my suggestions. Not always, but sometimes. So if you will indulge me, I am asking for advice, as my father recommended. I am here to listen, and to discuss our situation.”

“I think I know how we
can help you,” Axiom put in. “Please tell, what choices are you considering? To stop this thing, and to save everyone?”

The governor exchanged glances with his brass. “It’s okay,” he told them. “We will discuss it openly. Admiral?”

Admiral Incento cleared his throat. “The D6 requires either twelve or twenty ships operating in unison. It appears from the current
Affirmatix formation that they plan to use twenty, in an icosahedron around the planet. During the time that the weapon is ramping up toward discharge, the ships cannot do anything else. We are drawing up plans to strike at one of the ships during that window of time. If even one ship is seriously damaged, the D6 will fail.”

Evan asked, “Can they
not just slot another ship into the gap?”

“The timing is critical,” the admiral said. “The strike must occur when the weapon is accumulating. If it does, then the loss of one ship can unbalance the flow of energy between ships, and severely damage many or all of the other ships.”

“That’s your entire plan?” Evan made the question sound like a judgment.

“That’s the plan. We’ll throw everything we have at one of the ships in the formation.”

“A military solution,” Axiom observed. “But is it a military problem?”

“I would call it a military problem,” the admiral replied. “An invading fleet has enveloped our system and stands ready to destroy us.”

“Hammers, nails, they all come from the same toolbox
.” Axiom turned to the governor. “If you will be so kind, will you bring out the bone of contention? The original, please.”

Rezar looked reluctant, but then pulled out the amber cube from a pouch on the table next to him. He held it up.

“
One milliliter of trouble,” Axiom narrated. “The information that my friends and I released throughout Kelter, it came from this. We all saw how easily it spread. And spread again it will. To be considering such drastic action, Affirmatix must believe that they can keep this secret and use it to their great advantage. The good news is they will fail. In order to use it, some people must know of it
. Every one of those people will be suspect, each facing a great temptation to betray their family to another. The betrayals and purges will never end, until they tear themselves apart.”

“Just not good news for us, because we’ll be dead,” Evan pointed out, reasonably.

Axiom was unperturbed. “But the seeds of our
answer are in that truth. This knowledge, it still screams to be free.”

Evan translated for the governor. “Somehow we can help it take the next step. To save the people on this planet, all we need to do is get this information, about the glomes, out of the Kelter system. Once the secret is out, there will be no reason to harm us.”

“Out, or in.” Kate interjected.

Everyone turned and looked at her.

“It’s
an expression of the Great Symmetry,” she continued. “Every possibility contains its own reflection. Either we get the information out of this system, or we get it to come into this system from somewhere else. Because that means it already is elsewhere.”

Axiom laughed. “You have out-riddled even the master of what is not known,
” he told Kate. “I cannot make sense of that. Perhaps I’ll get you to explain it to me some day.”

“It may not appear practical,” Kate admitted. “I just don’t like it when people see only half of the world.
Sometimes that limits the possibilities of what you can see.”

“Perhaps we should stay practical, if we want to save this world,” the governor said.

Mira felt a flash of sympathy for Kate. Brushed aside by men. Whatever she was on about, it would never see the light of day.

“I do follow,” the governor addressed himself to Axiom. “We must find a way to bust the information out. Admiral, we have a research project. Consider every outgoing glome, and all of our assets.
We need to find out whether we can get even one ship out of the system and back to known space. To spread the word and then deflect the threat away from us.”

Mira was surprised to see the Admiral acknowledge the request and appear to take it seriously.

“Now, we need to cover just one more thing,” the governor told them. “In light of the current situation, we must ask for three of you to stay with us, in protective custody. Colonel Ellis will give you a briefing on
the terms.”

A uniformed woman stepped forward. “Adastra, McElroy, and DelMonaco, I understand that you know how the Stewart monitors work. We designate allowable locations for each person. You will receive a warning at ten meters from any boundary, and another at five meters. If you go beyond the boundaries, bad things happen. If you attempt to remove the monitor, bad things happen. If you amputate your foot to remove the monitor, the biometric sensors will detect it.”

Kate burst in. “Amputate, are you crazy?”

“It’s been tried,” Colonel Ellis affirmed. “Bad things happened.”

“I’d consider it,” Mira muttered, as she tried to pull
her ankle up for a closer look, only giving up after an intense wave of pain from several broken parts of her body.

“Ten meters is all well and good,” Evan told the soldier. “Can we get an idea of what’s allowable?”

“On the phones we have provided to you,” the colonel told them, “the map is clearly shown. You can make calls and send and receive messages to approved contacts, but be aware that everything will be monitored in real time.
If anything appears even slightly amiss, you will be cut off.”

“And of Kestrel and myself?” Axiom inquired.